Business in China

Vietnam has approved the licenses for HSBC Holdings Plc. and Standard Chartered Plc. to enter the country's financial market.

Prior to this, foreign banks were limited to investing in minority stakes in Vietnamese banks.The banks were approved as wholly-owned units and will be given a year to establish operations in the country.

The Vietnam banking sector is still in its infancy with only 10 percent of 86.5 million Vietnamese opening bank accounts. Local incorporation will allow foreign banks to grow their distriution network and attract more clients.

HSBC, which arrived in Vietnam in 1870, said it would build its headquarters in Ho Chi Minh City.

The bank wants to be the first foreign bank to operate a fully-owned local bank in the fast-growing Vietnamese banking sector.

Standard Chartered expects the move to expand bank services and competition for consumers and companies raising funds.

The two UK-based banks are among the 40 foreign banks operating in the country and make up for a total of 14 percent of lending market.

HSBC Bank Vietnam will have a registered capital of US$182 million, while Standard Chartered’s Hanoi-based bank will have a capital base of $61 million, reports the State Bank of Vietnam.

Indofood s'impose dans les assiettes des Indonésiens
Les nouilles Indomie, la farine Segitiga Biru ou la margarine Simas ne disent probablement pas grand-chose aux consommateurs français. Ces marques alimentaires, très présentes en Indonésie, appartiennent toutes au géant Indofood. Créé en 1990, le groupe possède plus de 400 000 hectares de plantation, ses propres moulins et assure la distribution de ses produit dans 150 000 points de vente dans l'archipel. Propriété d'un holding hongkongais, Indofood exporte ses produits en Australie, aux Etats-Unis ou encore aux Pays-Bas.

Nationalité : indonésienne
Activité : agroalimentaire
Chiffre d'affaires 2007 : 3 milliards $
Evolution sur un an : +27%
Résultat net 2007 : 100 milliions $